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Originally Posted by JSH
Another key difference is that Euro regulations do crash testing with belted passengers while US regulations require automakers to restrain unbelted passengers.
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Reminds me of those automatic seatbelts featured on most of the American imports (and some US-spec Jap stuff) from the '90s before airbags became more widespread.
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The Euro version is actually safer for a driver wearing a seatbelt.
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In the end, wearing the seatbelt is important on both the Euro-spec and the US-spec, even though some stubborn rednecks believe airbags are an actual replacement for seatbelts.
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Some IIHS data shows that knee airbags can actually increase leg injuries in belted drivers.
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My knees are not that great at all, but I am used to wear a seatbelt (its use is mandatory in my country since '99 for the driver and passengers in any vehicle fitted with it, and now even classic cars and some older long-distance coaches have been retrofitted with seatbelts) and wouldn't relax not wearing it even if there was a claim for a lower risk of leg injuries.